When did the “coffee break” begin?

Apparently, the modern coffee break began during World War II when many men were fighting and war production required the expansion of many factories and the construction of new ones, especially to manufacture aircraft. Thousands of women joined the workforce to build airplanes and munitions.

That expanded workforce needed to stay alert and refreshed on the assembly lines that ran 24/7, and a 15-minute coffee break was introduced every four hours. After the War, unions gained strength, and one of their demands was to have these coffee breaks put into their contracts with employers. Not long after, the office workers saw the benefit of this to the production people, and they too wanted coffee breaks.

So, moving on from that, how does coffee relate to the office environment? Fact; the coffee break was designed to keep employees in the office, but if an employer is spending money for staff’s coffee breaks, but they are still leaving the office because they want a better cup, then the purpose of offering coffee in the office has been defeated.

A vending provider should never have to apologise to a client when advising that a better coffee offer will cost more money. They know the purpose of providing good coffee in the office.

Their client can take back control of their coffee break and keep people in the office. There will be fewer complaints from the staff and happy employees work better. And as a little afterthought, the most expensive cup of coffee is the one that is wasted.

Case Study

Property Management for a leading Bank in the city of London was trying to resolve the problem of incorporating a bespoke, modern cashless system into their newly refurbished staff restaurant, in addition to replacing all vending machines throughout the building.